I have a 2013 Fiat Ducato campervan (Swift Forte 6.3m long) that came with the following tires: Bridgestone 'Duravis' model with the load markings 109 / 107 S and 215/70/R15. My biggest complaint with the Ducato is it's low ground clearance and many times the Thule powered step gets smashed from driving over a hump / being high centred, likewise with the front under cover that often gets squished when the road has wheel deeps that leaves the centre of the road too high and rubs the tire (notably in gravel shingle roads). So I bought a set of 16" alloy wheels from the Fiat dealer many years ago with intentions to upsize tire for higher ground clearance.
I'm a big fan of Michelin but where I live in NZ, it seems their product line differs to what i've known the brand to be in N. America. I've come across this terminology of CP "Camper rated?" by various tire manufacturers. Here in NZ the Light Truck tire Michelin markets is the Agelis 3. But they also show other tire variants ; Agelis, Agelis +, and Agelis 3. Having called the tire distributor for Michelin in NZ, she also could not tell me the differene between each one, though she said that the Agelis 3 are their latest model tires in that range. Having a look online the Agelis 3 has been out since 2019.
Using the following calculator https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc?tires=215-70r15-225-70r16
I have 2 questions:
1) Has anyone been happy going with wider 225 with 70 profile? I have no issues with the current 215 but since the overall tire is taller, it may affect the ride quality being narrower and more prone to side drifts (vs wider tires have less side wall drift). Also would like the 75 profile but the calculator shows that the rear tires would be very close to rubbing the body wheel well (ok on the front) - wheel rubbing when the wheels are turned? Local Michelin supplier does not have a 225/70R16 but does have the 215/70R16. If you want 225, then I have to go with the 75 profile.
2) Is this CP rating a marketing ploy as the local NZ tire dealers have never know a CP rating for Michelin tires and what is more important is the actual load rating.
We often carry a heavy load in the campervan and at times (I know it) that we go over the rated capacity. The chassis says 3600 kg GVW but I believe this should be more relevant to the Ducato MAXI model? With the Bridgestones, we've never had a problem ever, despite when fully loaded, I wonder how much more stress the tires could handle.
The newer Ducatos on the heavier chassis platform I see are 16" standard size with much larger tire. Though I was lead to believe my Ducato was designed with the same platform but with just smaller 15" rims? I noticed this as when i'm driving on the highway, my speedometer greatly overstates my speed. When i'm driving 100kms/hr, Google Navigation and radar says i'm around 93kms/hr which is a significant difference and wonder that Fiat had intentionally made my chassis for 16" rims?
Looking forward to some replies before I commit myself to buy new tires.
I'm a big fan of Michelin but where I live in NZ, it seems their product line differs to what i've known the brand to be in N. America. I've come across this terminology of CP "Camper rated?" by various tire manufacturers. Here in NZ the Light Truck tire Michelin markets is the Agelis 3. But they also show other tire variants ; Agelis, Agelis +, and Agelis 3. Having called the tire distributor for Michelin in NZ, she also could not tell me the differene between each one, though she said that the Agelis 3 are their latest model tires in that range. Having a look online the Agelis 3 has been out since 2019.
Using the following calculator https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc?tires=215-70r15-225-70r16
I have 2 questions:
1) Has anyone been happy going with wider 225 with 70 profile? I have no issues with the current 215 but since the overall tire is taller, it may affect the ride quality being narrower and more prone to side drifts (vs wider tires have less side wall drift). Also would like the 75 profile but the calculator shows that the rear tires would be very close to rubbing the body wheel well (ok on the front) - wheel rubbing when the wheels are turned? Local Michelin supplier does not have a 225/70R16 but does have the 215/70R16. If you want 225, then I have to go with the 75 profile.
2) Is this CP rating a marketing ploy as the local NZ tire dealers have never know a CP rating for Michelin tires and what is more important is the actual load rating.
We often carry a heavy load in the campervan and at times (I know it) that we go over the rated capacity. The chassis says 3600 kg GVW but I believe this should be more relevant to the Ducato MAXI model? With the Bridgestones, we've never had a problem ever, despite when fully loaded, I wonder how much more stress the tires could handle.
The newer Ducatos on the heavier chassis platform I see are 16" standard size with much larger tire. Though I was lead to believe my Ducato was designed with the same platform but with just smaller 15" rims? I noticed this as when i'm driving on the highway, my speedometer greatly overstates my speed. When i'm driving 100kms/hr, Google Navigation and radar says i'm around 93kms/hr which is a significant difference and wonder that Fiat had intentionally made my chassis for 16" rims?
Looking forward to some replies before I commit myself to buy new tires.
